Samuel Nartey George, Member of Parliament for Ningo-Prampram and Minister for Communications, has replied to considerable public concern about the rapid depletion of data bundles, maintaining that the assertions lack evidence.
According to Mr George, investigations into these concerns have found no misconduct on the side of telecommunications service providers. He pointed out that, while such worries are not new, the majority of them derive from user-side issues rather than network manipulation or systemic breakdowns.
Speaking to journalists ahead of the mid-year budget review presentation, Mr George mentioned a recent incident involving Ghanaian comedian Derick Kobina Bonney, commonly known as DKB. The comedian had resorted to social media to complain about unusually rapid data consumption. However, Mr George said that after an investigation was launched, DKB recanted his accusations.
Mr. George stated:
That is not supported by any evidence. You know, someone like DKB came out the other day moaning. When I ordered an investigation, what happened? He came back to retract.
He advised customers to check their device settings, background app usage, and automated upgrades, which could be depleting data without their knowledge. He stressed:
People should check their settings and be sure of their statements, but there is no evidence to support them.
Mr George’s remarks elicited diverse reactions online. Dennis Miracles Aboagye, an adviser to former Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, responded sarcastically, claiming that Ghanaians collectively changed their phone settings to blame the minister.
In a Facebook post he wrote:
Onable claims we’re bad paaaa, and on January 9th, we all decided to modify our phone settings and enable fast data charging since we dislike him and wanted to blame him. Dear Ghana Pipo, Please go to your phone settings, check for data speed, and set it to slow so that your data does not finish quickly.
The controversy has sparked internet debate, with many pushing for greater openness and public education on mobile data consumption.
